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Vietnam vets look for new digs

Published: Sunday, May 13, 2012

By Linda May

When the members of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 9
first moved into their nearly 100-year old building on Woodward Avenue
and Temple Street in Detroit in 1980, they were picking up dirty drug
needles and chasing off pimps and car thieves with baseball bats.

They
cleaned up their corner including the adjoining lot. They renovated the
12,000-square foot building and held countless meetings, ceremonies,
and family-friendly events there.

But now they find, as many
Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and other veterans organizations do, that
they don’t need all that space and they don’t have the money for the
upkeep. Veterans posts from various congressionally chartered
organizations are dissolving, or they consolidate to stay viable.

Fraser
resident Mike Sand, who has been in the VVA for 31 years, is the newly
elected president of the 150-member chapter. He said that an offer was
made by a downtown Detroit-based company to buy its building for
$950,000.

That particular offer expired but Sand said negotiations are still open.

``I
believe the majority of our board of directors is in favor of
downsizing our building, but we are not moving to the suburbs,” Sand
said. ``We definitely want to stay downtown in a prominent location.
There are a lot of places in that area that have had facelifts and
groups moving in, the ACLU, Michigan State University – all kinds of
businesses

are popping up down there. The city of Detroit is like
a spinning top and we don’t know where it’s going to stop. If nobody
makes this offer again, we will stay put.”

Sand also noted the building’s aged boiler would cost $200,000 to replace or bring up to city code.

Yet,
he remains excited about the possibilities for Detroit. He is working
with the Riverfront Conservancy that wants to develop a string of green
space along the Detroit River from Hart Plaza to Belle Isle to attract
more families and tourists.

He would like to see the Detroit
Brodhead Naval Armory - Marine Corps Reserve Center on East Jefferson
Avenue become a military museum and showcase Detroit’s historic role in
all conflicts. Continued...

``Chicago has its Navy Pier. Detroit is more than just the Fox Theatre. There’s a lot of history here,” he said.

If
he had his druthers, he would like to see the chapter relocate nearby
to fill a 1,500- to 2,000-square foot spot in a barrier-free vacant
building with a 10- or 15-year lease option.

``There are so many
people living downtown now. Many are younger people from CompuWare. The
medical center is flourishing, and there’s Wayne State. They ride around
on bikes and sit on their porches.

Sand said he is not worried
that another offer to buy Chapter 9’s property will not come. He is not
concerned about the city being

taken over by an emergency financial manager, and he doesn’t foresee the city of Detroit evicting veterans.

VVA
Chapter 9 works with the Metropolitan Detroit Veterans Coalition that
stages the Veteran’s Day Parade on Woodward Avenue, and a proposed
Veterans Memorial Park of Detroit Inc. headed by Sand’s colleague Al
Opra, a Sterling Heights resident. Sand’s and Opra’s veterans groups
join others from the suburbs to support Piquette Square, a homeless
veterans facility.

``If somebody gave us endowment, sure, we’d stay where we are. That’s unrealistic, but you never know,” he said.

``At
this point I’m just trying to point the ship in the right direction and
make sure the crew is with me rowing the boat together. We’re ready for
it. We can deal with it.”

He envisions a small facility like the
Veterans Support Center that VVA Chapter 154 has in Roseville. But
Chapter 9 – long known as LZ Motown – will remain in the hub of
Detroit’s sports and cultural activities.

``We want to continue
to do good things but, where does money come from when you are
struggling just to keep the doors open?`` Sand said. Continued...

Still, he sees some hope with Vietnam veterans retiring and having more time to help out and mentor younger vets.

He’s
hoping the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts will turn out
to support both the long-time major veterans organizations and the
Veterans of Modern Warfare.

``They are busy just trying to find
jobs and be with their spouses and children. It took us more than 10
years before we (Vietnam vets) started marching together again,” he
said.

For now, Chapter 9 sells a bit of veterans merchandise and
gets support from Charity Motors. It accepts donations from sports venue
patrons and the city’s Thanksgiving Day Parade watchers who wish to
park on its property and use its restrooms.

He has hopes the
Veterans Day parade can continue in Detroit with financial support and
cooperation from all area vets. He sees the other two big parades that
feature veterans to be the May 27 St. Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade
and the Wyandotte Fourth of July Parade – all expensive events to stage,
provide safety and crowd control and cleanup services.

On May 5
the chapter held a ``Fall of Saigon Remembrance” with the South
Vietnamese-American community, people who fought with the Americans, and
who are grateful for America’s effort to try to hold back Communism in

their native country.

The chapter has held a canoe trip during Father’s Day weekend for 32 years.

``This year we will be doing the primitive parts of the Manistee River. It’s all good stuff,” Sand said.

When the members of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 9 first
moved into their nearly 100-year old building on Woodward Avenue and
Temple Street in Detroit in 1980, they were picking up dirty drug
needles and chasing off pimps and car thieves with baseball bats.

They
cleaned up their corner including the adjoining lot. They renovated the
12,000-square foot building and held countless meetings, ceremonies,
and family-friendly events there.

But now they find, as many
Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and other veterans organizations do, that
they don’t need all that space and they don’t have the money for the
upkeep. Veterans posts from various congressionally chartered
organizations are dissolving, or they consolidate to stay viable.

Fraser
resident Mike Sand, who has been in the VVA for 31 years, is the newly
elected president of the 150-member chapter. He said that an offer was
made by a downtown Detroit-based company to buy its building for
$950,000.

That particular offer expired but Sand said negotiations are still open.

``I
believe the majority of our board of directors is in favor of
downsizing our building, but we are not moving to the suburbs,” Sand
said. ``We definitely want to stay downtown in a prominent location.
There are a lot of places in that area that have had facelifts and
groups moving in, the ACLU, Michigan State University – all kinds of
businesses

are popping up down there. The city of Detroit is like
a spinning top and we don’t know where it’s going to stop. If nobody
makes this offer again, we will stay put.”

Sand also noted the building’s aged boiler would cost $200,000 to replace or bring up to city code.

Yet,
he remains excited about the possibilities for Detroit. He is working
with the Riverfront Conservancy that wants to develop a string of green
space along the Detroit River from Hart Plaza to Belle Isle to attract
more families and tourists.

He would like to see the Detroit
Brodhead Naval Armory - Marine Corps Reserve Center on East Jefferson
Avenue become a military museum and showcase Detroit’s historic role in
all conflicts.

``Chicago has its Navy Pier. Detroit is more than just the Fox Theatre. There’s a lot of history here,” he said.

If
he had his druthers, he would like to see the chapter relocate nearby
to fill a 1,500- to 2,000-square foot spot in a barrier-free vacant
building with a 10- or 15-year lease option.

``There are so many
people living downtown now. Many are younger people from CompuWare. The
medical center is flourishing, and there’s Wayne State. They ride around
on bikes and sit on their porches.

Sand said he is not worried
that another offer to buy Chapter 9’s property will not come. He is not
concerned about the city being

taken over by an emergency financial manager, and he doesn’t foresee the city of Detroit evicting veterans.

VVA
Chapter 9 works with the Metropolitan Detroit Veterans Coalition that
stages the Veteran’s Day Parade on Woodward Avenue, and a proposed
Veterans Memorial Park of Detroit Inc. headed by Sand’s colleague Al
Opra, a Sterling Heights resident. Sand’s and Opra’s veterans groups
join others from the suburbs to support Piquette Square, a homeless
veterans facility.

``If somebody gave us endowment, sure, we’d stay where we are. That’s unrealistic, but you never know,” he said.

``At
this point I’m just trying to point the ship in the right direction and
make sure the crew is with me rowing the boat together. We’re ready for
it. We can deal with it.”

He envisions a small facility like the
Veterans Support Center that VVA Chapter 154 has in Roseville. But
Chapter 9 – long known as LZ Motown – will remain in the hub of
Detroit’s sports and cultural activities.

``We want to continue
to do good things but, where does money come from when you are
struggling just to keep the doors open?`` Sand said.

Still, he sees some hope with Vietnam veterans retiring and having more time to help out and mentor younger vets.

He’s
hoping the veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts will turn out
to support both the long-time major veterans organizations and the
Veterans of Modern Warfare.

``They are busy just trying to find
jobs and be with their spouses and children. It took us more than 10
years before we (Vietnam vets) started marching together again,” he
said.

For now, Chapter 9 sells a bit of veterans merchandise and
gets support from Charity Motors. It accepts donations from sports venue
patrons and the city’s Thanksgiving Day Parade watchers who wish to
park on its property and use its restrooms.

He has hopes the
Veterans Day parade can continue in Detroit with financial support and
cooperation from all area vets. He sees the other two big parades that
feature veterans to be the May 27 St. Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade
and the Wyandotte Fourth of July Parade – all expensive events to stage,
provide safety and crowd control and cleanup services.

On May 5
the chapter held a ``Fall of Saigon Remembrance” with the South
Vietnamese-American community, people who fought with the Americans, and
who are grateful for America’s effort to try to hold back Communism in

their native country.

The chapter has held a canoe trip during Father’s Day weekend for 32 years.

``This year we will be doing the primitive parts of the Manistee River. It’s all good stuff,” Sand said.

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